New World Rugby rankings will see Wales drop into third tier if Scotland win

Wales could drop out of the top two tiers in the World Rugby rankings if they lose to Scotland this weekend.

Wayne Pivac's side, who currently sit eighth, will likely find themselves in ninth place come Monday morning if they are beaten on home soil.

A defeat should see them lose enough rankings points for Argentina to leapfrog them without playing a game. Wales' lowest ever ranking is 10th, which they fell to in 2007 and 2013.

The top eight positions in the rankings are used during World Cups to decide the first and second seeds, with anyone ninth and below deemed third seeds.

Wales are actually top seeds for next year's World Cup because the rankings for the draw were taken from January, 2020 - before the pandemic caused so much disruption to the rugby calendar. Wales were fourth at the time after a successful 2019 World Cup run.

The Welsh could yet move above Scotland in the rankings and end the weekend in seventh spot with a win of more than 15 points.

If Scotland win, and Ireland beat France in Paris, the Scots would climb to a record-equaling fifth place.

A France win over Ireland would result in them being the higher-ranked of the two teams.

In contrast, a heavy defeat for Les Bleus could see them drop as low as seventh if it comes along with a Scottish win.

Italy’s game with England has very little riding on it from a rankings perspective.

1. South Africa

2. New Zealand

3. Ireland

4. England

5. France

6. Scotland

7. Australia

8. Wales

9. Argentina

10. Japan